I gently tiptoe out of the room and down the corridor, following the defeated screams echoing from Kane. At the door to the throne room, I stay hidden in the shadows, peeking around the corner to see exactly what is happening. There are two creatures, beasts I have never seen before, whipping Kane over and over again. These creatures have no human characteristics. Their dark green flesh is rough like leather, and sharp pointy scales shimmer beneath the large flames lighting the room. They look like razor blades.
"Don't stand in the shadows, little human," Drogaem says from out of sight. "Come forward."
I hesitate, but immediately I feel that pull of dark magic that Drogaem curses me with. I'm unable to deny him, so I move forward, keeping my hands balled into fists. It is the only control I have at this point. He smiles nefariously at me as he comes forward, pulling something from the waistband of his pants. He grabs my wrist and shoves the dagger into my hand. At first, fear floods me.
Has he found my knife? Was he following me the night before?
I'm almost afraid to look, but as my eyes shift down to the cold handle of the blade, I let out a breath of relief, finding just a dull steel blade in my hand. But why is he giving me this? He knows that if I can, I'll plunge it into his heart regardless of whether it kills him or not. But I don't have control, and he knows that.
"Aren't you going to ask me what I'm giving you that for?"
I tighten my look and gaze at him angrily, letting him know that I'm not going to ask him any questions. He reads my face well and begins to laugh. Walking around behind me, he puts his hands on both of my shoulders and turns me toward Kane. Leaning down, he whispers into my ear, and I flinch, smelling the rotten stench of his breath against my skin. "I want you to carve Kane."
My eyes widen, and I snap my head to the side, staring into Drogaem's eyes. "I will not."
I can see his jaw tighten. "You will, and you know very well you have no control over it."
Almost instantly, I can feel the pull of his magic. One foot moves forward, and then the other. He's pushing me toward Kane. I grip the dagger tightly in my hand and close my eyes, fighting with everything I have against the magical compulsion over me. I begin to summon my godlike powers, feeling the heat pushing and pulling inside of me. I focus on his dark curse, bidding my magic to tear his compulsion apart.
I am winning and losing. My magic is more potent, much more, and with every step forward, I take a step back. I can hear Drogaem's laughter echoing in my head, and it only drives me further to focus on breaking this curse. The light inside of me is so bright I can see it beneath my eyelids. It pulses and pushes, getting the upper hand. My feet stop moving, and my grip loosens on the handle of the dagger.
Behind me, Drogaem's laughter ends with his sudden realization. A smile moves across my lips as I push my magic even harder. I can feel Drogaem grip my arm, and his touch is painful. When he whirls me around, my eyes open, and the light recedes. His anger is palpable, and his face is scrunched and scowled. I gasp just as he reaches his hand back, slapping me hard across the cheek, catching my lip. The dagger falls from my hand and clatters across the floor. As I wipe the drop of blood from the corner of my mouth, I can hear Kane growl from behind me. Drogaem can see that I was successfully fighting his spell.
"How dare you defy me. If you ever do that again, I will slice your throat where you stand."
He picks up the dagger and storms toward the door, but I don't feel any fear at all. In fact, I feel nothing but triumph. My magic fought harder than ever before, and I could feel how close I was to breaking his curse as I focused. Had he not stopped me…
Drogaem stops in the doorway and turns back toward me. His hand shoots up, and he points at me, a twisting spiral of dark magic shooting from it, wrapping swiftly around my neck, choking me. I gasp for air, my fingers digging into my flesh as he roars in anger.
"You will not use your magic until I say so."
I can feel the dark magic sinking into my flesh, suffocating my light. While I may be able to breathe again, he's crushing my immortal powers, pushing them down and locking them within a dark chest inside of me. He laughs as I struggle, falling to my knees. The creatures that were torturing Kane ran off when they felt my magic growing stronger.
Drogaem's hand drops, and he sneers as he marches out of the throne room and down the hallway. I place my hands on the ground, breathing heavily, trying to get my bearings.
"Are you all right?" Kane's voice wraps around me, and instantly I'm to my feet, rushing over him to release him from his chains.
As I do, I help to slowly lower him to the ground. Whatever whips they were using were not just leather. There are deep gashes in his flesh, and the only thing they didn't touch was his face. Blood pools out of him, and I put my hands over the wounds trying to close them. I call for my magic, but I can feel it slamming against the wall of darkness that Drogaem has put inside of me.
Tears rush on my
